Major Problems
by StarryFire14
Summary: Lucy decided to leverage her friendship with Princess Hisui when she was 12 to join the Rune Knights to escape her abusive father. What happens when the Magic Council is destroyed on her 21st birthday and she has a run-in with Fairy Tail and a few Demons? This is officially a multi-chapter fic! Fairy Tail belongs to Hiro Mashima, the Pradesh family belongs to Desna.
1. Chapter 1

"Clear the way!" a blonde shouted through the crowd of onlookers watching an intense mage battle. She was approaching the recently-demolished 8-Island Cafe (leave it to Fairy Tail to destroy a building in 5 minutes or less) and she was limping on a heavily-injured left leg while trying to support a nearly unconscious Doranbolt.

She'd been bleeding heavily from wounds on her right hip and waist (lacerations from flying debris), and sported massive burns along the entirety of her left leg. It was serious, but all things considered it could have been worse, especially as she was living in the steadfast denial that her right arm was fractured. It absolutely _was not _compromised. Not enough to slow her down, despite the unhelpful pain that radiated from her arm when she moved it.

Doranbolt's injuries were far worse. Or at least, they were more… impairing. The man was bleeding from a head-wound and carried his own weight less and less by the second.

He'd been awake - dazed, but conscious - when she'd gate-hopped them from the rubble that was once the Magic Council Headquarters. Now, he was barely mumbling once every few minutes, and it was beginning to worry her. He may be a grade-A dumbass, but he was a good man and - though she was loathe to admit it - he was her best friend. She'd hoped he would make it with enough time to help her with Yajima before they both had to seek medical attention. Seems that hope was dashed, and she had to get him help.

Would have been dashed anyway, she thought in disappointment, since instead of stumbling into a busy cafe, they'd found themselves in a battle. Again.

Guess Plan A was out the window.

She'd finally shoved past the onlookers, shooting them all enough scathing glares to convince most of the citizens to scatter. She was small, but she knew how to be intimidating.

Lucy was left holding up an unmoving Doranbolt, watching as the infamous (in the council's eyes anyway) Thunder Legion and Laxus Dreyar fighting with what could only be another Demon Gate of Tartarus.

Another Demon, like Jackal, who had laughed as he watched the light leave her brother's eyes.

She promised herself, in that moment, she would end them all. She would kill them if it was the last thing she did. And celestial mages always kept their promises.

Lucy took in the battle with analytical eyes, and sighed as she watched the female fairy tail wizard fall back with Yajima, the former council member that was the likely target of the demon. She didn't have many options, but Plan B should still work. With some modifications.

The demon turned his attention to the males in the fight, as Evergreen and Yajima had been the least concerning in that moment, and Lucy took the opportunity to insert herself into the situation.

The celestial mage loosened her grip on Doranbolt, letting go of him quickly to step through a celestial gate. She appeared right next to a winded Evergreen of Fairy Tail and a surprised Yajima, and before they had a chance to speak, she put a hand on each of their shoulders and hopped back to Doranbolt.

She caught the Direct Line mage just before he fell to his knees, and breathed a sigh of relief and fatigue. Gate hops? They took massive amounts of energy for a non-celestial being. Lucy was taking a moment to be thankful that her magical energy wasn't as low as her physical energy, or she and Doranbolt both would be in a heap on the ground.

"What the hell-"

"Evergreen," Yajima cut off the hostile brunette, "This is Major Heartfilia from the Rune Knights. Likely we don't have time for questions. Major," the old man smiled grimly at the young blonde, "You're quick as ever, I see. I assume you're here to help?"

The old man spoke calmly, but quickly, understanding the danger they were in and that their comrades were just yards away - fighting an extremely challenging battle sans one team member.

"Yes, sir," Lucy grit out through clenched teeth, "The Lieutenant here needs immediate attention, but my duty is here. Evergreen?"

Said mage, who was still trying to understand what was happening, simply nodded.

"Are you still good to fight? Is your guild hall still safe?"

"I am, and yes as far as I know. We were ambushed here," she said, gesturing to what was once a restaurant. She brought her arms back up in a ready position as she turned slightly to keep the escalating fight in her vision. She winced when Freed took a heavy hit and went down, but kept her attention mostly on blonde who had - literally - just popped in.

"I'm taking Yajima - I'll be right back, be ready," Lucy advised her, then disappeared in a flash of gold with the injured mage and the old council wizard.

Now, the Fairy wizard would normally pride herself on being unflappable. Unfazed by even the most concerning and terrifying of situations. This blonde wizard, though, the one that just popped in and out in the middle of a battle with a _demon_ while looking like she'd just fought through the seven rings of hell and an unstable explosives factory? Like it was nothing? That had even Evergreen a little off-balance, and she didn't like it. She wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

And the fact that she was a council wizard? That was a little odd, all things considered. Her behaviour, while stiff and professional, was… fiery, passionate. She'd never seen that in a council knight before, apart from Mest but he was really Fairy Tail, even if he didn't quite remember that. Most council wizards were stiff, unemotional, and frankly, unhelpful.

She didn't have time to dwell on it, though, because moments later the blonde was in front of her once more. Evergreen should have been prepared, but she was shocked nonetheless.

She couldn't have been gone for more than a minute! Freed had just stood up on the other side of the ruined restaurant, and he was never down for long (he'd told her once he refused to allow his hair to rest on the filth of the ground, even in a life-or-death fight. She was only partially convinced he was joking about that).

Lucy was panting heavily, she was… more than aware of the toll her body had taken. And the strain she was putting on her magic. She was also pissed off that the little blue-haired girl had tried to force her to remain where she was and get treatment and delayed her return.

It didn't matter what state she was in, her duty came first! Didn't they understand that?

It was Fairy Tail, she thought bitterly, of course they didn't. They knew nothing of rules or respect or duty. Let alone _honor._

Scowling, she looked up at the startled brunette. "You ready?"

Evergreen quickly recovered herself, "Of course.''

"Good," the major answered, looking at the battlefield she'd returned to, "We only get one chance at this. We were fast enough that the demon," she took another deep breath, "hasn't noticed you or Yajima's absence. We're jumping in directly behind him, launching an attack, and getting the hell back in case it doesn't do him in. Charge your most powerful attack."

"Right," Evergeen nodded, feeling a little like she was a soldier taking orders. Heartfilia, for as small and unassuming as she _looked, _had an alarmingly commanding presence.

Once Lucy finished speaking, a golden flash alerted Evergreen to another figure in her line of sight. She almost unleashed the Fairy Blast she was charging at the movement, but saw the Lucy's complete lack of surprised as she just spoke to the odd-looking man with a metal tail, as if she were giving orders to him as well.

"Thank you, Scorpio. You ready?" Evergreen caught the last of Lucy's softly spoken words as her magic began to strain.

"We are!" the guy (she thinks) throws up a 'rock on' hand motion.

Odd.

"M-Major," Evergreen grit out, "We gotta go soon, I'm a little _too _ready."

"Understood," the blonde gripped Evergreen's shoulder with her right hand, and motioned for the metal-tailed guy to move to her other side, "Now!"

They disappeared from their spot, only to appear directly behind the large demon less than a moment later.


	2. Chapter 2

**I got so much good feedback from the last chapter, so I have decided to make this a multi-chapter fic! It'll be long, so brace yourselves! I'm splitting my writing time between this story and "Chasing the Fallen Star", my first fanfic, so updates will likely not be super quick. I did want to thank you for letting me know you wanted more, so I wrote this for you just to tide you over until I write out my next long chapter. **

**Please, rate and review!**

**I do not own Fairy Tail!**

The attack didn't go as well as Lucy would have liked. While the demon _did _fall, crumpled and unmoving at the feet of Fairy Tail's lightning dragon slayer, it wasn't from the charged magical attacks he'd received from Scorpio and Evergreen.

It was from Lucy's physical blow to his mid-back, which just so happened to also fully break the celestial mage's already fractured arm, and the demon wasn't the only one crumpled on the ground.

At least she was somewhat upright, having fallen to her knees so she could still survey the battle, but she was certain that was all luck and that she wasn't going to be moving any time soon. Not until she recovered herself enough to block out the excruciating pain of her broken arm and the ache of her depleted magical containers.

"Scorpio," she spoke in a pained voice, "You can go home. Magic's low. Thank you."

Her spirit looked at her with concern, but did as asked and returned to the spirit realm, calling out to her, "Alright, but I'm telling Aquarius to keep an eye out!"

Great. Perfect. Lucy was hoping, praying that nothing went wrong. Because if Aquarius decided to summon herself the whole fucking town was going to be demolished, and she couldn't let that happen. Not in front of Fairy Tail - she'd be a hypocrite. And they'd know it.

From her position, she saw surprise and confusion flick across the faces of the remaining Thunder Legion members. The green-haired one (who's locks were still somehow impeccable, despite being in the middle of a battle - how does that even happen?) was gazing at her with a kind of intense curiosity that she just _knew _was going to annoy her if she went to Fairy Tail for a healer. From what she knew from his file, he was a knowledge seeker and Lucy practiced a rare magic - sometimes in ways it had never been used before, like gate-hopping. She found herself wishing she could move just to run away from the endless questions she could already see forming in his eyes. The one with the ridiculous mask - that she knew as Fairy Tail's Seith Mage - had his mouth hanging open in shock with seemingly no plans to close it anytime soon. For some reason that particular mage avoided the council when they came to collect a criminal from a job, or when the visited the guild, so Lucy could at least count on not getting questioned for information from him. Thank goodness, between Evergreen and Freed she wouldn't have the time for more questions, she was sure.

Then there was the Thunder God himself (which Lucy found endlessly amusing - that he was nicknamed the Thunder God when a literal Thunder God Slayer was in the Sabretooth Guild) who, thankfully, seemed to show no surprise at all. Though, maybe he had heard her plans, he did have the enhanced senses of a Dragon Slayer. It was a good thing, too, because instead of gawking like his teammates did, Laxus actually continued the fight and capitalized on the opportunity Lucy had worked so hard to create for them, and attacked the demon with a hugely powerful Lightning Dragon's Jaw.

Laxus shouted the incantation, and yellow electrically charged magic exploded over the demon, creating a large crater underneath him and lighting up the entire area so brightly that Lucy was sure no one else had their eyes open. Hell, she herself would have protected her eyes if it weren't for the fact that years of working with starlight made her mostly immune to blindness via bright lights.

She was thankful for that, because she didn't want to take her eyes off the enemy. He writhed in his crater while the magic continued flowing over him, it felt like minutes of insanely intense magic, but was likely only a few seconds. As soon as the light faded and the dust cleared, the demon was completely immobile.

They had won. She was relieved, but felt a sense of trepidation still. It seemed almost too easy.

Keeping an eye on the demon, Lucy struggled to her feet, ignoring the protests of her injured left leg.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Surprised, Lucy's gaze shot up to Laxus immediately, who was still on the defensive - this time facing her.

"...and what did you do with Yajima?"

Lucy, despite the pain it caused her, brought up her own defenses. Moving her arm was like self-inflicted torture, but if this asshole was going to attack her out of no where, she was damn well going to put him on his ass. And he was a Fairy. The likelihood of him launching a premature attack was pretty high.

"Dreyar, I am Major Heartfilia. I escorted Yajima to your guild hall," Lucy answered him, slowly, as if he were an idiot. Which, in her defense, he kind of was. She was wearing her council clothes, for the gods' sake!

"She's telling the truth, Laxus," Evergreen spoke quietly, "She took him and another injured council mage back to the guild before we came back into the battle."

Freed, who was struggling with exhaustion, seemed to brighten up at this. Lucy felt the urge to run and hide.

Bickslow put a hand on Laxus' shoulder, wincing a little at the sparks dancing on his hand, "It's all good, boss man. Relax."

Laxus scowled at his team. He wasn't an idiot, nor was he some kind of hyper-aggressive teenager that needed calming down. He was just… cautious. Rolling his eyes, he straightened from his defensive stance and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Tch. Whatever," he said, averting his eyes, "Let's get this idiot back to the guild-"

A weak but rumbling chuckle interrupted the mages, who had all walked up to stand in a group just a few steps from the downed demon. Lucy and Laxus were furthest away, Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow all within reaching distance of Tempester. It was the latter three that started coughing and sputtering first, followed by Lucy moments later.

Tempester spoke through his pained chuckles, "I am truly shocked that you were able to defeat me, being mere humans," he started, "But I am a demon - this isn't where things end for me. I'll just have to give up one of my lives to make sure you go down with me - you and the rest of this pathetic town."

Laxus seemed relatively fine, just felt a tightness in his chest, as his three comrades fell to the ground clutching at their throats, their chests. Lucy stumbled into Laxus involuntarily, clutching his arm to keep herself upright in her dazed state. He steadied her, then studied her, as if he could figure out what the problem was by examining what was happening to her.

Finding no answers in the stubbornly still-standing mage, he looked to Tempester, who was starting to fade as tendrils of some kind of smoke escaped his body, "What the fuck is this?"

Tempester's weak chuckle sounded, and he responded, "Magic-Barrier Particles. My own special brand of death… they consume all ethernano in the air… in your lungs… thousands will die here…"

Suddenly, with that, his body… exploded, for lack of a better term, into thousands of tiny particles. Freed, Evergreen, and Bickslow stopped moving. Lucy's coughs doubled and she clutched onto Laxus's arm nearly unconsciously, grip so hard that she was actually causing him pain, but he didn't care.

His friends were dying. This random girl next to him that had essentially saved their asses was dying. Thousands would die in the city.

And he was a dragon slayer. He had special lungs. He could save them.

He heard Hearfilia mumble something under her breath between her coughing fits, but ignored it as he pushed the air out of his lungs and stood straighter.

He felt as her grip loosened, as his eyes closed and he started pulling in the particles to his lungs, he assumed she had finally fallen to unconsciousness.

He assumed wrong. He felt a stupidly powerful blow to his face and fell sideways, shocked enough to stop pulling the particles in. He touched a hand to his cheek and found a cut there, just under his scar, where blood was falling. When he looked up, it was into the eyes of a pissed of Major Hearfilia and a weirdly dressed maid with chains on her wrists.

"What the fu-"

"Laxus Dreyar, you're a fucking moron!" She coughed out, and Laxus shut up, his anger evaporating under her glare. She looked like hell. Pale, sweaty, exhausted, but she was standing and coughing just a little less.

"Punishment, Princess?" the maid asked the Major.

Hearfilia rolled her eyes at Laxus's shocked expression, and looked at the maid as she fell to a knee, breathing heavily, "No… Virgo…. P-cough-Please finish ... cleaning… these particles up…"

Virgo simply nodded and got to work, though he couldn't really tell what she was doing. Laxus couldn't quite wrap his mind around everything that was going on, but he was starting to fade as well. He could feel the particles he'd taken in taking their toll. He had to admit, Heartfilia was right. He was a moron. He thought he'd have enough energy to save everyone else, but the way things were, he never would have gotten all the particles out of the air before passing out, and he would have just died for nothing. He saw her fading too, as the edges of his vision started to darken. She was on both knees now, breathing shallowly and bracing her weight on her hands as well.

The last thing he heard before passing out was her raspy, damaged voice begging for the maid to hurry in between rounds of horrible, choking coughs.


	3. Chapter 3

**I know I said not to expect more chapters this soon but I got carried away and I couldn't help myself. I may have a few more out tonight or throughout the week, depending on how demanding my Muse is!**

**Thank you so much for all your reviews, they mean more to me than you can imagine. **

**Please enjoy!**

* * *

The next time Lucy woke up, it was to the face of an extremely anxious Doranbolt staring at her. While standing over her. His face about 3 inches from her own.

In what she will forever claim as 'instinct' and 'reflex', Lucy punched him as hard as she could in the face in an effort to 'protect herself' because he 'scared her' and she 'didn't know who she was hitting'.

She would have been smug at the look on his face as he fell back on his butt on the floor next to her bed if it weren't for the fact that, for the third time in recent memory, she clobbered someone with her broken arm. Lucy made a mental note to find some way to improve her bodily awareness.

Hissing and gripping her cast-enclosed arm, she sat up painfully and tried to take a deep breath to scream at her colleague. Tried being the operative word, as her breathing was painful if she did more than small, shallow breaths. She managed a quick, "The… fuck is your problem… Lieutenant?" while squinting one of her eyes closed, as if it would help her breathing.

Lucy found herself extremely annoyed that her voice was so small, as Doranbolt (who normally cowered at her anger) simply popped back to his feet lightly, rubbing at his cheek, and gave her a smile. Happily, he cheered, "I'm so thankful you're okay, Lucy! I was so worried! How are you feeling? Can I help you? Should I get you a beer or something, we are in Fairy Tail, it's basically like water around here! Actually, sometimes - and don't tell Cana I said this - sometimes I think MiraJane _does _put water in th-"

"LIEUTENANT," she said it ferociously. Or tried to. It came out sounding rough and she coughed through the pain in her throat halfway through.

"Oh, Lucy, are you okay?" Doranbolt asked, approaching her and patting her back roughly. Before she answered, he continued, "Oh, good. Glad you're fine. Anyway - as I was saying - Cana drinks enough ale to kill a horse, Mira putting water in it is really the only way to explain how she's still alive. But what I really mean is I'm sure they have beer I could get you. Or water. They must have water if they add it to the beer. So I think I could-"

Someone, maybe the Spirit King, must have heard her prayers for reprieve from her best friend, because finally, while she was still coughing up a lung and halfway to dying from the pain in her throat, someone said the words she so despareately wished she could have, "Shut the fuck up, you imbecile, and get her some water from the table _right fucking next to you."_

She recognized the deep, rumbling baritone, but she couldn't place it, and as far as she could see, she and Doranbolt were alone. Until she actually scrounged up the brain power it took to take stock of her surroundings, and realized what her tunnel vision had deemed as walls were actually curtains, and the bed she was in was the kind they stock in clinics. The very same kind that they had stocked in Fairy Tail's small infirmary when she'd dropped off the same mage that stood in front of her now.

Doranbolt shot upright, standing straight up as is Lucy had ordered he stand at attention, facing the direction the voice had come from - across the bed on Lucy's left side. Thankfully, he did so _silently, _much to Lucy's immense relief. The only sounds remaining in the room were her own soft, raspy coughing noises.

The quiet of what she could only assume was Fairy Tail's infirmary stretched on, and while she was _grateful _that it had quieted, she still couldn't _breathe _and she was halfway prepared to kill her comrade because he'd been staring at a fucking curtain for what seemed like hours (but was in reality only a minute or so) instead of doing as Mr. Disembodied Voice had commanded him and _gotten her some damn water. _And sure enough, Mr. Voice was right. Sitting not five feet away from her, cold and dripping condensation from the outside of the glass pitcher and down onto the wood of a side-table, next to a set of clear glasses, was water. Sweet, wonderful, glorious looking water that she _couldn't reach_.

Sometimes she really questioned if the direct line mage was her friend by choice, or simply because there were limited options among the Knights. Times like these, she truly believed it was the latter.

"For fuck's sake," Mr. Voice said, and she heard shuffling from the curtain next to her as she feebly waved her uninjured arm toward her 'friend'. The curtain was pulled harshly to the side, revealing Mr. Voice to be Laxus Dreyar himself, covered in nearly as many bandages as she was.

He glared at Doranbolt as he walked carefully to Lucy's side, holding a small glass of water that had come from his own side table out for the celestial mage to take. She did so gratefully, spilling some from the glass in her haste to ease her aching throat.

Doranbolt looked momentarily shocked, but that fell away into shame when he noticed Lucy's desperation for the water he had, in fact, been standing right next to. Laxus braced himself with a hand on the wall next to Lucy as she finished her glass, and Doranbolt rushed to her own side table to get her a second glass.

"_Thank you, _Mr. Voice," Lucy said, glaring at Doranbolt as she handed Laxus the glass and took the second from her colleague.

"Mr. Voice?" Laxus asked incredulously, and Lucy nearly spit out the drink she was sipping at, her cheeks turning pink. Had she really said that out loud?

Sputtering, Lucy managed only to mumble a "huh?" before going back to her drink, hiding behind the glass to hide her blush. Feigning ignorance worked more often than one would think, so that was the plan she was sticking to.

Laxus was a little confused, because this was not the same person he had met in the middle of that battle. He remembered a self-assured and serious wizard who easily stepped into a situation in the middle and took measured, decisive steps to turn the tide of the fight. Impressive though it was, she'd seemed dull and a little superior, arrogant even, just in the way she'd presented herself. Most Rune Knights he knew of were that way, and she'd seemed no different.

Now? He saw a real person, sitting injured and a little confused, arguing half-playfully with her annoying best friend. The contrast confused him, until he remembered the end of that conflict. When she'd saved his idiotic life by punching him in the face (the fact that he'd needed a healer due to the size of the cut irked him, but she had saved his life, so he'd let it slide).

He'd seen some of hint of her true self in the fire that lit her eyes as she'd stood over him, clutching at the broken arm she'd used to sock him in the face, ignoring the pain she was in to save him and his comrades. And the whole town, truthfully.

All said, he disliked the person he met in the middle of the rubble at 8-Island Cafe, she rubbed him the wrong way. This person though, the one sitting in bed sipping at water and trying (and failing) to hide her blush, she was intriguing. He'd like to know what the whole 'Mr. Voice' thing was about, but he set it aside for later questioning when Mest broke the awkward silence that had developed between the three to address his friend.

"A-ah right, sorry Lucy."

"I've told you a million times, Lieutenant. It's Major or it's Heartfilia, or it's Major Heartfilia," she rolled her pretty brown eyes at him. Laxus scowled at the overly formal tone she'd adopted once again. She sounded like a pissed off Freed, and _no one _liked that.

Laxus made a mental note to make sure the two didn't meet up when they were in bad moods. He wasn't sure the guild could handle the scathing-but-polite barely-understandable insults they would likely throw at each other without mercy. It was a situation he planned to avoid.

Mest, though Laxus had thought the playful guy would cave to his superior without question (he was a soldier, after all) simply rolled his eyes and plopped down on the bed at the blonde's feet, "Oh lighten up, _Major Lucy. _Laxus is cool, you don't have to act all soldiery around him."

Affronted, Lucy put her hand to her chest. Or tried to, as the cast was in the way and the sudden movement caused the ache in her bones to present itself to her nerves a bit more forcefully.

She made a second mental note to do that research about bodily awareness post-haste.

Lucy shook her head and glared at her best friend, "Is that insubordination? Do I need to report you to your Cap...tain…" Suddenly and without warning, memories flooded back to the blonde celestial spirit mage. She remembered the events leading up to her current predicament, and tears flooded her eyes, just barely managing not to fall down her cheeks, "Oh. Oh no. I-I…. Shit. I forgot, for a minute..."

Laxus watched as the normally overly-cheery direct line mage curled in on himself, his head drooping to his chest and his hand landing on Hearfilia's leg over the blanket, squeezing as if giving comfort. Or maybe receiving it.

The Major was… much worse. She was clutching her chest, despite the fact that the same motion from her cast-enclosed arm not a second ago had her gasping in pain. It was as if she was trying to hold herself together, and from someone who seemed stoic and uneffective most of the time, it was hard to watch.

The two council mages seemed suddenly flooded with pain, grief maybe, and Laxus suddenly realized that he had unintentionally witnessed a very private, very emotional moment between them. He was still restricted to the infirmary by order of Porlyusica, but in that moment he decided he'd rather face the pink-haired hag's wrath than the grief of the two people he was currently stuck with.

"Uh. Right… Well, I'm just… Gonna… Ya know… Get some food…"

He always was an awkward bastard when he was forced to express any emotion beyond anger, pride, or contempt. He didn't say anything else and rushed as quick as he could out of the infirmary.


	4. Chapter 4

**This one is pretty short, but if we get into the next part it's going to be way too long. Please review!**

**The Pradesh Family (Bickslow's family) belongs to the ever-creative Desna. If you like them in my story, they are _so much better _in all of hers. Check her out, if you haven't before.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Instead of the sweet and expedient escape from the grief-infused air in the infirmary, Laxus exited the room only to slam directly into another body, knocking them to the ground and irritating his own still-bruised and magic-barrier-particle weakened body.

"Shit, sorry. You okay?" he asked in a hurried whisper, shutting the infirmary door softly behind him as he addressed the person on the ground in front of him.

"Five years. Five years, I grew while you didn't, and you're still knocking the shit out of me," the lump of person on the ground groaned good-naturedly, "But I'm fine. Help me up, will ya?"

Laxus rolled his eyes, but grasped the man's hand regardless, and pulled him to his feet with just a little bit of grumbling as he taxed his injuries. It took him a moment to really register the man's words and observe the person in front of him, but when he did, he gasped.

"Cris?" the lightning wizard addressed tentatively, "is that you?"

Said man laughed and nodded his head, "Sure is. Good to see you all back and living, though from what I hear from Bix you did a really good job trying to die before we met up again."

Laxus took in the sight of his best friend's little brother, trying to reconcile the image of him compared to his memories. He was having a hard time coming to terms with the fact that the lightly muscled and soft-hearted sixteen year old he'd left at his Arman Pradesh's estate in Bosco had somehow grown up in the blink of an eye. Granted, he (and several other members of the guild) had spent five of those years stuck in a giant magical sphere, unmoving and ageless, at the bottom of the ocean, but still. It was weird.

Cristoff now stood at something like six foot three, almost taller than Laxus himself, and was built much the same, if a bit leaner, with raven-black hair and blue eyes that were likely popular with the female population of wherever the man happened to be. Or the male population, for that matter, Cris was from Bosco - as far as Laxus knew the man didn't have a big preference when it came to men or women.

There were a lot of questions Laxus should have asked while catching up with his fellow dragon slayer. Like, 'what are you doing here?' or 'did you join a guild?' or 'how's the family?'. What he went with instead was, "Where did all these muscles come from?"

Cris only laughed, shaking his head. He had apparently decided not to answer, and walked down a bit from the infirmary doorway toward the bar, "You looked like you were trying to escape and Bix said that I should check you out, so let's sit at the bar and I'll look at you there."

Laxus paused as he was just about to follow, "Cris… Look, man, I know you're from Bosco, and you're an attractive guy and all, but I'm really just not… I mean, sorry, but you're like a little brother to me? I'm not really, interested… Sorry…"

Cristoff tilted his head in confusion and scrunched his eyebrows, observing Laxus for a second before understanding dawned on his face, and he burst out laughing.

Loudly.

"Laxus, shit. Man, _no," _he burst into another fit of giggles, grabbing Laxus by the shoulder and pushing him ahead, steering them to seats at the bar.

He was still laughing as he pushed Laxus into a seated position and held his hands out above the lightning mage's chest. Said lightning mage just looked… extremely uncomfortable.

"Did you seriously already forget?" Cristoff asked the man in front of him as he channeled magic into his hands, white-blue magic circles forming a light mist in front of Laxus' face, "I'm a healer. I'm not _checking you out, _I'm, you know, checking you out. For injuries."

Let the record show that on this day, Laxus Dreyar blushed. In the guild hall. In full view of other people.

"...Oh yeah. That makes sense."

"Not that I _wouldn't _hit on you, but you remind me of my brothers, and that's just a little weird for me," Cris added playfully, as if consoling the blonde, "It's not you, it's me".

Laxus shot him a glare, but found the expression a bit hard to hold onto as the man's magic started soothing the aches in his body. The guild hall, most of whom had stopped what they were doing to observe the conversation between Laxus and the newcomer, had returned to their previous antics. Namely, a guild-wide brawl that even the rising conflict with Tartaros couldn't damper.

Their conversation turned more serious when Cris spoke up next.

"Seriously, though, are you okay? You ran out of that room faster than lightning - no pun intended."

Laxus shrugged, and was relieved to find that it didn't hurt to do so. Cris's healing was better than even Wendy's, "Yeah, but that chick. I think she lost someone in the council when it was destroyed because she mentioned someone - her captain maybe? Or something? - and then just got really depressed. Mest did too. It was awkward as hell."

"So naturally, you ran away."

"Of course. You know damn well I suck at comfort, and like I said. Awkward as hell. I don't think she wanted me there anyway, she seems a bit closed off, ya know?"

Something clicked in Cris's brain as Laxus was elaborating, and suddenly he raised his eyebrows, "Wait."

"Huh? What?" Laxus asked intelligently.

"You mean she's awake?"

"Well, yeah. She was, anyway."

Cris dragged his hand over his face and started walking back to the infirmary, snagging Wendy's arm as he went and dragging her along, "You mean to tell me that the person who has been sitting in a coma for a week just woke up, and you didn't bother to mention it to her healer?"

At those words, Wendy stopped fighting Cris's hold and instead pushed ahead of him and sped into the infirmary. Cristoff stopped at the door and gave Laxus a questioning look, wanting an answer.

He wanted to defend himself, he really did, but it would be lying. He'd just, kind of, spaced it.

"Sorry." he called out to Bix's brother, who rolled his eyes and stepped into the infirmary after the Sky Dragon Slayer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Dear Readers, **

**Here's the next part. I hope you like it! **

**Lucy kind of flip flops in her personality a lot in this chapter, but it's on purpose, I promise. She's struggling between being the person she _is _and the person she _pretends _to be around people she's not comfortable with.**

**Please review! Let me know how you feel about the way everything is developing!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Did… Did you see what happened?" Doranbolt questioned his superior and best friend, hoping that her answer was 'no'. Though he knew it was very unlikely.

"Yeah," Lucy confirmed, squeezing the glass in her hand tightly.

The direct line mage winced. No one should have been forced to see what happened to Lahar, least of all his adopted sister. Though it came as no surprise. The demon had forced the security mages to project it on the lacrima screens throughout the complex, after all.

"Did you?" Lucy asked him, hoping that maybe he hadn't. By his reaction, that possibility wasn't likely.

"I… I did… I mean, not all of it, because I tried to direct line there as soon as I figured out where they were. I only saw up until Jackal placed his curse mark on his face, not what happened after-"

The glass Lucy had been holding shattered in her grip. She barely noticed, her mind forcing her back to the awful, horrible memories of her doing the same thing. Gate-hopping to the central security office to save her older brother, believing with everything she had that she would be able to get there to stop it, only to arrive just as the curse activated.

Just in time to witness the effect powerful explosions had on the human body. Specifically, Lahar's body.

Specifically, the gore that existed where his head full of long brown hair and strong features once rested.

Lucy couldn't banish the image from her mind, nor the feeling of his blood splattering across her horrified face. She tried closing her unseeing eyes, but that just made the mental picture clearer. She tried to rub at her face, to hold her head, anything, but something held her hands and wouldn't allow them to move, so she just sat still. Unable to move. Unable to do anything but remember.

"Lucy… Lucy…" she heard, but it sounded like it was a million miles away.

She felt something smack her face lightly, and she was drawn from the horrific scene in her mind. A hand pulled her chin up, and she was once again looking into the panicked face of her best friend.

"Lucy, are you with me?"

Swallowing, she nodded briefly, ignoring the resistance his hand on her chin provided, "Y-Yeah."

Doranbolt took a deep, relieved breath, and sat back down at Lucy's side, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… to remind you… I… I'm sorry," he kept repeating, looking at the pillow over Lucy's shoulder instead of into her eyes.

Silence passed for a few minutes, neither of them feeling up to speaking.

"Do… do you remember anything after that?" Lucy asked meekly, deciding she needed to know how much he was aware of. It was the last thing she wanted to discuss, truthfully, but any facts he had that she didn't remember might help her find that bastard Jackal.

Doranbolt shook his head, likely pulling himself out of memories just as she had, "Not much, sorry, Lu. I just remember arriving well after everything happened," he scowled, "I got the fucking room wrong. I thought he was in the Eastern security suite, and I wasted my time there before moving on to the central security room. If I'd just _paid more attention _to that fucking lacrima video-"

Lucy interrupted his self-scolding, punching him in the shoulder. This time, thankfully, using her left arm, "If I wanted to throw you a pity-party, I would have said so," she berated harshly.

Doranbolt shrank back on himself, but Lucy continued before he could respond.

"And it isn't your fault, Dory. I did the same thing, and I went to the correct room, and my teleportation method is faster than yours, and I was _still _too late. The blame isn't on us, it's on that evil fucking demon that took our family away. Getting caught up in misplaced guilt won't get us anywhere," she finished, her voice losing every bit of harshness it had once held.

She wasn't talking to him as a soldier at that point, after all. She was speaking as his friend. And as someone who had just lost the only family that counted, in her opinion.

Doranbolt's tense muscles relaxed, and he grabbed Lucy's hands, only to suddenly remember that she'd used her deceptive strength not ten minutes ago to shatter a glass in her monster grip. And that her hands had been bleeding freely that entire time.

"Fuck, Lucy, you're bleeding!"

Shocked, because she hadn't really registered it, she looked down. Sure enough, there was a small pool of blood gathered in her lap, where her cut up hands were holding onto the shattered remnants of her water glass.

"Huh."

Doranbolt, who - despite being a soldier - was significantly less calm in a crisis situation, promptly freaked the fuck out at her nonchalant response and started running around the room, opening drawers looking for some form of bandage.

Several minutes of slamming drawers and mumbled expletives later, Doranbolt was no closer to discovering a bandage. And Lucy was much closer to losing her patience. The guy just had that effect on her - though she had to admit his stupidity seemed to be an effective distraction from the grief she'd been consumed by just moments before.

"Lieutenant," Lucy called for him calmly, "Relax, would you? I'm sure that little Fairy girl that tried to keep me here yesterday after I dropped you off would be more than happy to heal me. As annoying as I find it that she tried to stop me from returning to battle, I've heard good things about her abilities."

Heartfilia had fully expected that statement to soothe her frantic friend. Doranbolt, once again, exceeded those expectations. And by that, she meant that he reacted in the exact opposite way.

He stopped his panicked efforts to find a bandage suddenly, and turned immediately to face her with wild eyes. Like he had just casually run into a pack of wyverns on his way to work and was now facing their wrath. And Lucy would be lying if she said it was an expression she didn't recognize.

She narrowed her eyes.

"What did you do?"

Doranbolt, forgetting that Lucy was, in fact, still in need of medical attention, brought his hands in front of him and poked his index fingers together nervously. If that was an answer, Lucy didn't know what it meant, and no verbal answer seemed forthcoming.

"Doranbolt. What did you do?"

Lucy hated repeating herself. She really, really did.

Doranbolt opened his mouth to speak, but the voice she heard answer her question didn't belong to him. It belonged to a little girl. One that she most definitely hadn't noticed before.

"It's more like what he didn't do," the little blue haired healer spoke, pulling Lucy's attention to the doorway. The major simply looked at her with slightly narrowed eyes, not in annoyance, but in confusion. She was trying to sort out when _exactly _the girl had entered the room.

Lucy made another mental note - this time about finding time to freshen up on her situational awareness techniques. Her lack of observational skills lately were getting rather embarrassing.

"...What," Lucy finally questioned, "did the Lieutenant fail to accomplish?"

Yet another voice answered this time, and it most definitely wasn't one she'd expect from a teenaged girl. Nor from Doranbolt.

"Mest forgot to mention that you've been out for a week. You didn't drop him off with the annoyingly concerned blue-haired healer yesterday, you did that six days ago."

Lucy's jaw dropped. Mostly from shock. The other ten percent of the reason was because the person attached to that last voice had walked fully into the room. And he was gorgeous. Laxus-Dreyar-Level gorgeous (yes, she'd noticed the blonde was hot, but she'd seen him in magazines and on damage reports for years), and he was looking at her with eyes that reminded her of the night sky she cherished. And his long, beautifully maintained black hair fell neatly down to almost reach his shoulders.

She quickly shut her mouth lest she appear less than professional, and absolutely refused to allow her gaze to take in the dark blue, skin-tight shirt that covered his lean, muscled chest that was not exactly _hidden_ under his fitted clothing.

She cleared her throat, "O-oh," she spoke, cursing herself for sounding so weak and… stutter-y, "Right. Well then. That's-"

Wait.

She looked between the three people in the room, her eyes flicking back and forth.

"What the hell do you mean, it's been a week?!"

Doranbolt hid behind the very curtain that Laxus had moved just a little while ago, doing his best to avoid her stare. Wendy clasped her hands in front of her, wringing her hands, looking a little bit like she was in the principal's office for something she knew she shouldn't have done. Which was a little ridiculous, since it was likely not her fault.

The dark-haired man just rolled his eyes and stepped past Wendy, walking to her bedside and observing the still-bleeding cuts on her hands while he answered her, "To be fair, miss, if you'd listened to the _healer _when she'd warned you _not to go back into a battle, _you would have probably spent significantly less time in a coma while your body recovered."

Lucy looked away from his piercing gaze as he sat next to her, glaring at the Doranbolt's curtain. She was very much not used to being the one scolded, and she didn't like it. But he had a point.

Rather than admit her own role in her current predicament, she decided arguing was the better option, "If I hadn't gone back, Laxus Dreyar would have gotten himself and his team killed. And," she turned back to him, removing her hand from his larger one - as he'd been removing glass shards from it - and poking him in the chest with a bloody finger, "it's Major Heartfilia. Or Major. Not miss."

"Captain Cristoff Pradesh," he said, grabbing her hand once again and removing it from his chest to continue treating her.

Lucy just blinked.

"My name, Major. My name is Cristoff Pradesh, I'm a Captain in the Knights of Immaculate Light in Bosco. Nice to meet you, and I'm sorry for the disrespect. If I'd known you were a ranking officer I wouldn't have addressed you so casually," he clarified, pulling the last shard of glass from her left hand and moving to her right - moving her hand carefully so as not to jostle her broken arm.

"Oh, right. Nice to meet you, Captain," Lucy finally responded, once she'd gotten a handle on the shift in the conversation.

Cristoff snorted, "Please, don't address me as my rank. Just call me Cris."

"But-"

"Major, really, it's fine. I'm not here in any official capacity, don't worry about it."

Lucy huffed, and turned her attention away from him again. She found herself much calmer and less tense than before, and now found that she had been overreacting.

Allowing Cris to continue what he was doing, she called out to the curtain, "Doranbolt, you can come out now."

Said mage peeked out and glanced at her with one eye. Seeing that she was relatively calm, he stepped fully out from his hiding spot and looked at her sheepishly, "Sorry, Lucy, just… you know, with everything I kinda forgot to mention that you'd been out for a while…"

Lucy was a bit ashamed at scolding him. He liked to goof off, frequently, but he never would have withheld information that important from her on purpose. And really, given everything that's happened over the last week, it made sense that he got distracted before informing her.

"No, I'm sorry, Dory. It's not your fault. I didn't actually ask. You think you could go talk to Master Makarov and see what we owe him for inconveniencing his guild for so long? I'll call you once I speak with the healers."

The direct line mage smiled at having seen his friend relaxing for the first time since she woke up. The tough, no-nonsense military figure she portrayed herself to be? It was mostly fake. A front she put up to hide the fact that she never felt safe. Like some kind of armor. Given her past, he couldn't blame her for behaving the way she did most of the time, but it was nice when she dropped the tension in her shoulders and just acted like herself.

He was actually kind of surprised that she'd done so with Wendy and Cris in the room, but he wasn't going to question it.

"Yes, ma'am!'" he agreed, saluting her briefly before exiting, mostly as a joke. Though she was two ranks above him, and she probably should have had him disciplined for insubordination _years ago._

Lucy watched him pass the teenaged healer and leave the room, laughing a little at his antics. He was an idiot, but most of the time she felt like she didn't deserve his friendship.

Cris had finished with her hand, and instead of bandaging it, he raised his hands over hers and called to the other occupant in the room, "Wendy, get over here. You asked for my help, but you can't learn if you don't watch."

Wendy walked closer, and Lucy saw how she was red in the face and looked rather nervous. At first, she assumed it was because Cristoff was, well, frankly handsome as hell. But watching as the girl kept glancing her way as she walked up to the other side of the infirmary bed, she remembered what she'd said about her when she was talking to Doranbolt earlier. The things that Wendy had obviously heard. Shit.

"Wendy," Lucy spoke softly, "I am afraid I owe you an apology. What I said to the Lieutenant about you being annoying, it was uncalled for, and honestly inaccurate. You were simply advising me of what would be best for my health, and I shouldn't have berated you for it."

The teenager looked up at her hopefully, as she moved closer to the bedside so she could observe Cristoff properly, but didn't say anything.

"I… I am truly sorry. I just take my duty very seriously. My position in the military has saved me from… well, quite a lot that I would not like to discuss, but anyway… because of that. I am honor bound to serve, protect those that can't protect themselves, despite my own condition."

Cristoff, who had been sitting silently observing the scene, found himself a little thrown off. He had pegged the Major as a pretentious, self-righteous, status-obsessed military officer that cared more for herself and her rank than anything else. Beautiful, sure, but kind of an asshole.

But, observing her a little more closely, now that his soothing magic had been able to calm her down a little (he _tried _not to influence her emotions, really, but he couldn't help it. The tension in her shoulders was painful to witness), he saw something past all the sharp edges she displayed outwardly. And now, watching her apologise to an anxious teen to make her more comfortable, he found himself wondering if the person behind it all was actually… kind.

Wendy absorbed the blonde's words and her nervous expression transformed instantly into a bright smile, "Oh, that's alright, Major, ma'am! I understand."

Lucy's eyes softened, "Call me Lucy," she said quietly, "both of you," she added, looking at Cris.

"It's not like there is any use in using my rank when the council has been completely obliterated. I think," she choked a bit, but quickly regained her composure, "I think Dory and I are the only ones left in the entire council."

Cris would have been shocked, but he'd been made aware of this situation from his father before he left Bosco. She… wasn't wrong.

Neither he or Wendy responded to that, as there really wasn't much to say, but Wendy placed a comforting hand lightly on Lucy's shoulder.

Lucy shook her head and looked up at the two healers around her, "So anyway," she said, allowing a bright smile to grace her features - though it wasn't entirely genuine, Cristoff decided that she was much more beautiful that way, "What's the damage? Let's talk about my crippled self first, and we can get into the state of the outside world once we figure me out."

Wendy nodded. Cris couldn't help but think that waiting until they'd 'figured her out' would mean that she'd never figure out what was happening with Tartaros.

"Oh, and Cris," Lucy addressed him directly, "I'm really fine, you don't have to keep using your magic to keep my emotions in check."

"Fuck. You knew?"

Lucy's smile turned genuine, "Yeah. But I was being an asshole there for a minute, so I don't really blame you."

Cris just shook his head, suppressing a smile of his own, and allowed his calming magic to recede.


	6. Chapter 6

**Dear readers,**

**This chapter really just highlights Cris and Wendy, as I wanted to really dig deep into how he helps her improve her magic. Shows a little insight to what Lucy was dealing with in the opening battle, too. Not a lot of deep content but I hope you enjoy seeing how I'm establishing Cristoff's character in this story.**

**As always, I do not own Fairy Tail, and Desna owns the Pradesh family.**

**OH - and please, review. I'm like Tinkerbell (Not Lucy in they eyes of Cobra, I mean like the actual Peter Pan version) - I need people to believe in me or I stop existing. And by that I mean... I just really like reading your thoughts :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I don't think I can heal it…"

Wendy's softly spoken words would have had Lucy in a panic if it weren't for Cristoff piping up next to her, "Don't worry, Lucy. It'll be tough but I can heal it. And Wendy here will learn."

Cristoff looked sternly down at the blue-haired girl.

"However," he continued, "the damage is fairly extensive. I'm curious, how did you get this?"

Lucy averted her gaze, trying to ignore the fact that they were prodding (albeit gently) at her mostly destroyed left leg. She was honestly surprised Cristoff said he could heal it, because she was almost certain it was a lost cause. Considering what happened to it, she was amazed she'd even found the strength to use it at all when she carried Doranbolt from the Council.

Cristoff cleared his throat.

"Oh. Right. It was… exploded?"

Wendy gasped, a hand over her mouth. Cristoff just looked confused, "...come again?"

Sighing, Lucy gave up and actually looked at the man, "There was a demon. He used a curse power that was essentially marking a target, and then exploding it. That's what he did to my leg after-" she stopped speaking abruptly.

Since the damage was on her lower leg, Cristoff moved his hand up to her thigh to pat it gently in comfort. Clearly, remembering the battle was painful for her.

After a moment, she composed herself (while cursing herself silently for allowing her to show emotion in front of two healers who were practically strangers) and continued, "Anyway, it wasn't powerful explosions. Well, I mean, they were, but… but they weren't really meant to cause damage so much as..."

Lucy apparently couldn't finish, but she hadn't needed to. Cris filled in the blank on his own. '_Pain…'_

"Right. Well, this shouldn't hurt, but I need you to tell me if it does. I'm going to get started now. The leg is the most pressing issue that Wendy hasn't already healed, so we will start there and work our way up. Alright?"

The celestial mage gave a short nod, focusing on her hands in her lap.

Cristoff guided Wendy's hands over his own, deciding that Lucy wasn't up for more conversation at the moment.

"Here," he instructed, "close your eyes. Seeing it isn't important, I need you to feel the way my magic works through the tissue. Focus magic to your hands, that way it can follow my own. Right, like that."

Wendy's tiny hands looked almost comical against his own, but despite her age she held a lot of power. She just didn't have the discipline yet to really use it, and Cristoff was determined to help her get there.

Activating his own magic, he began to heal his patient, still speaking to Wendy, "Do you feel that?"

Wendy nodded, giving a little hum in confirmation.

"Good. Keep your eyes closed and focus. Now, we are starting with the bone, this is delicate so pay attention, good. See? This isn't just casting some kind of random spell to promote the body's own healing, we are physically manipulating and healing each part of the injury to bring it back to full function, can you see the difference?"

The little blue-haired girl nodded excitedly, eyes still closed.

"You have to be careful with this part, as we set the bone fully, or your patient will be in pain. You have to manage and soothe the pain while you're healing the injury - it's a delicate balance."

Lucy just watched this with tired eyes. Cristoff was right, she could tell how it would have been painful - she felt the odd sensation of her bones moving and mending - but he was good. She didn't feel any real pain, but it was making her a little drowsy as he was relaxing her nerves with his magic. She sighed in relief as her leg started feeling better.

Cristoff smiled a bit. Lucy was starting to fully relax under the effects of his magic, and that relieved little sigh was music to his ears. The fact that she looked like an angel with a true smile on her face was just icing on the proverbial cake.

They kept it up for hours. He'd set the bone fully in about an hour, carefully explaining each nuance to Wendy. They moved on to the blood vessels and veins that had been severed by bone fragments, then to the nerves, then to the muscles to ensure everything was in good condition before finally wiping their brows and sighing in relief. Wendy hadn't used much magic apart from just tracing his own, but she wasn't used to taking that much time and care in healing an injury so her shoulders were stiff, but she was smiling happily.

She was more confident than he'd ever really seen her, and he couldn't help the proud smile that took over his features.

"Alright, Wen. Let's do another once-over and see what's next, yeah?"

"Okay!"

Wendy immediately jumped into action, standing up fully to hover her hands over Lucy's (now-sleeping) form, this time Cris being the one to trace her magic as she performed the task.

They both frowned at what they found, Wendy now having a greater understanding of what it all meant and Cristoff feeling it for the first time.

"You say she actually went out into battle like this?" Cristoff asked, a little dubious.

"It was much worse, actually. I healed most of her minor injuries while she was out, but I'm not the greatest at… bones and… the deeper stuff…" She trailed off, looking ashamed.

"Quit it. You've never been fully trained, that's not your fault, and if it was worse than this initially than you likely saved her life. Besides," he looked at Lucy's relaxed, sleeping face, "She's tough. She'll be fine."

Wendy looked unconvinced, but nodded anyway.

"Alright," Cristoff took a deep breath, "Damage report."

"Huh?"

Cristoff looked at her pointedly, "Damage report, Wendy. Run me down the list of injuries you see, and your plan to treat them."

"A-ah, right. So. Um…"

Cristoff waited patiently, but directed her magic subtly to Lucy's left leg, indicating she start there.

"Alright, alright," she took a deep breath, "The left lower leg, obviously, was severely injured. We already healed it, but she will need to make sure to work it out physically to ensure it regains full function," she looked at Cristoff for approval, which he gave in the form of an encouraging nod.

Wendy continued with a little more confidence, "Left knee is deeply bruised but heal on its own given time. Her right leg has a couple damaged tendons, we can heal those but same as with the left, she will need to make sure to go through with physical therapy. Right femur has a bone bruise that we can… heal?" she said it as a question to Cristoff, who nodded and answered.

"We can heal it _some_ but bruises are tricky. Usually we let them heal on their own, but this one would continue causing significant pain, so we can heal the source of the bruise as much as possible with spells more like what you are used to - speeding up Lucy's natural healing process. It'll take a lot of magic though, we will discuss its priority after we sum up everything else," his tone implied that she continue with her report, so she did so.

"Alright, so what's next… Okay, she has sustained damage to one of her kidneys and her spleen, likely from trauma, and her lungs still feel… weird?"

"The anti-magic particles they encountered in the battle. Her and Laxus somehow received the worst of that, but we should check the others for any lingering poison as well."

Nodding, Wendy continued, "The upper arm is broken in two places. The bones are set but not mended. Her elbow on the same side is sprained. Left wrist is minorly fractured and inflamed, some hairline fractures to her collarbone as well, and a rib on the left side is cracked. Head seems okay, though."

Cristoff nodded, proud, "That was really thorough, Wendy. You're picking this up rather quickly, you just missed some minor bleeding from her liver. What do you think our priority list should be? What's the treatment plan?"

Lucy shifted slightly in her sleep, jostling her broken arm and whimpering slightly. Wendy winced in sympathy, considering their options.

"We need to deal with the organs first. Kidney function needs to improve first and foremost, then spleen, then liver. We can do that with my normal spells?"

Cristoff shook his head, "Kidney, yes. Spleen would be more effective to heal on a deeper level, as would the liver, and would take less time and magic. We can handle that. What's next?"

"The lungs, we need to expel those particles. They are dampening her magic's natural urge to speed up her healing."

Cris nodded, "And after that?"

"Her arm," Wendy decided, "That seems to be causing her the most pain. We can move on to the rib and the collarbone after that, and then go through the minor injuries. The only problem is, you don't have enough magic to do it all."

"Good thing I'm not alone, then," Cris grinned at her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Dear Readers,**

**Thank you so much for all the love for this story. It started as a random idea and just kind of morphed into this massive undertaking, but I'm really excited to continue it! **

**So we are delving more into the background for the story with this chapter, but after this we will get back into some more action and the like, so stick with me! **

**To answer a couple questions I've gotten in reviews:**

** \- Yes, eventually I will give this a romantic spin. As with all my stories, it will not be the focus until so much because I am way more interesting in finding ways to challenge Lucy and her strengths. But I _do _love romance so it will be in there eventually.**

** \- Will I ship Lucy with a Pradesh Brother? We will see how the story develops, I like to kind of write until a pairing becomes apparent to me instead of starting off with the intention of pairing a specific couple (unless it's a one-shot, or a ship week, or both) because it seems more genuine that way. In reality, though, the Pradesh siblings in my head are hot as hell, so... it's fairly likely she will end up with one of them.**

** \- Will this be a Laxus/Lucy story? As with the question above, I'm not sure yet. If you've ready my one-shot 'Assumptions', you know that I love that pairing. And Laxus as a character, just, ya know, in general, but it will all depend on how the plot develops. **

**If you have a preference, a pairing you really want to see? Drop it in the reviews :) I'm not ruling anyone out at this point so if you want to throw me ideas, that'd be alright!**

**Oh, and reminders: **

** \- Desna owns the Pradesh Family, I just get to play with them!**

** \- Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail, and same as above.**

** \- My Beta is the greatest thing since sliced bread (GoddessxNyte2)**

**I love you all for reading. And reviewing.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Lucy woke up with significantly less pain than she'd fallen asleep with, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude at the fact that when she sat up, she found that moving her left leg was possible once more.

Being able to breathe was nice, too.

She was alone in the infirmary and the darkness outside told her it was evening, but she could still hear a dull roar of countless voices through the doorway and smiled slightly. She had looked up to Fairy Tail as a child, even as a pre-teen when she'd first escaped her father's house to join the military, she'd had far away dreams of becoming a guild mage. Going wherever the wind took her and helping whoever needed it, free from the expectations of high society, from her father, hell, even from the military where orders were to be followed and independent thought was frowned upon.

She'd often told herself that in some other life she would have been able to follow that dream.

No matter, that path was well and truly gone for her. Now, she had responsibilities and a nation to protect, and several unruly demons to destroy.

Sighing, she decided she could no longer put off speaking with Fairy Tail's master. It was well known that a majority of the council despised Makarov Dreyar, but despite that, he'd always held a reputation for being kind and fair, even if a bit irresponsible and lecherous.

Lucy pulled the blankets from her person and stood up gently, testing her weight on her left leg. Finding it a little weak, but not painful, she took a few steps to the table holding her keys and called Virgo.

"Punishment, Princess?" Lucy only smiled.

"Virgo, could you get me a change of clothes? I'll buy you more fabric later, I promise, but this…" She pinched the thin material of a hospital gown with distaste, "Is… not going to work."

Disappearing in a flash of gold, and then reappearing in the same way, Virgo responded, "I believe this will suit you fine, Princess. Punishment?"

The maid spirit held out a pair of black shorts that were… entirely too short, and a purple tank top that was short enough to bare her midriff and expose her lightly outlined abdominal muscles to the world. "T-t-that's...very, um… revealing…"

"I am glad you like it, Princess," the spirit gave her a mischievous smirk (well, it wasn't much of a change at all from her standard features, but Lucy had long since discovered the secret to reading her face) before blinking out of Earthland of her own accord.

"...Fuck."

Lucy took slow steps toward the door to the bathroom, favoring her left leg only slightly, to change. She never wore anything in public that wasn't her council attire, but she couldn't exactly put that back on with any sense of authority. The council was gone, and besides, she didn't want to ask Virgo for another favor. She already felt like she was taking advantage, a bit, because Virgo had used her own celestial fabrics to craft the outfit she held in her hands instead of fabric Lucy had purchased and provided to the spirit.

Lucy took a few minutes to shower, now that she could move more freely, and took stock of her remaining injuries. Her leg was sore, but mended, her arm seemed mended as well. She could breathe now, and her ribs hadn't been smarting painfully, so she imagined that pesky little bone problem had been taken care of as well. She still had a few remaining bruises, chief among them a large purple bruise on her thigh that would be visible while she wore the shorts, and while it was healed, the two large lacerations on her side had scarred. They would also be visible with the clothing she'd been provided by her spirit. She sighed heavily as she exited the shower.

Piled on the small table in the bathroom were toiletries that hadn't been there when she entered the shower, and Lucy had to smile at that, '_So _that's _why I felt Virgo out earlier. I thought she was just finding something in that disgusting guild hall to clean.'_

Lucy gripped the keys on the table and sent a 'thank you' through the connection the key provided to her spirit.

She quickly brushed her hair, brushed her teeth, got dressed and secured her old, worn belt over her hips, securing her fleuve d'etoiles, keys, and her ornate golden dagger to their rightful places on her hips.

The celestial mage looked in the mirror, and blushed. She'd never shown that much skin in public. Ever. She'd been raised as a debutante, all long dresses and conservative formalwear, and then moved directly into the military, where _everyone_ wore the same thing and it was far from risque.

She did have to admit, though, looking at the way her weapons dangled from her belt and her scars and bruises shone out on her pale skin… she looked like a badass. She just wished she had a _little _more coverage.

Having no choice, she left the bathroom that way and made to leave the infirmary. She had her hand on the door when she saw it. Slowly, she stepped away from the door, "Lahar…" she whispered brokenly.

On a chair next to the bed she'd been staying in, was her brother's signature blue and pink-trimmed coat. He'd been wearing it that day, the day he died. He'd lost it in the initial fight, discarded it for some reason or another while he battled with Jackal. She'd found it near his body, the right sleeve torn off at the seams, the left burned and frayed at the wrist, the whole thing soaked in Lahar's lifeblood.

She'd snagged it from the rubble before snagging Doranbolt and gate-hopping just outside the building just before the entire building went out. Crying, she'd summoned Virgo and begged her to keep it.

Seeing it now, Lucy realized that her maid spirit hadn't just kept it. She'd cleaned it, repaired what she could without replacing any of the material, and had resized it so it would fit Lucy. So the celestial mage could keep something of her brother with her always.

The blonde splayed her fingers over the material, overcome with emotion. With shaking hands, Lucy slipped the coat on over her outfit. Her right arm was left bare, the left exposed at the forearm where Virgo had trimmed off the charred fabric, and the coat was long enough that it fell down to brush over the back of her calves. When she tested it out to see if she could still easily reach her weapons, she saw that her pink-haired maid had sewn her brother's captain patch into the inside of the jacket, out of sight but resting right over her heart.

Lucy gripped the material there, and with the other hand reached back to her keys and summoned her spirit once more. Virgo didn't even have time to ask for punishment when Lucy had enveloped her into a hug, fighting tears and whispering, "Thank you," over and over again.

* * *

It was an hour later before Lucy had the nerve to leave the infirmary. Though it was obviously late at night, or at least evening, the sounds from the guild hall hadn't lessened. At all.

In fact, she was almost certain they had increased in volume.

She steeled her shoulders and exited the infirmary, still walking carefully but her confidence in the state of her leg a bit higher.

"Lucy!" she heard her name being called as she took her first step down the stairs, and was accosted moments later by a hyperactive Wendy, "You shouldn't be up!" the healer pouted, moving to support the celestial maiden's side while she gripped the handrail tightly.

"Really, Wendy, I feel much better, thank you," she said, giving the girl a genuine smile. She was annoyed with her caring when she'd first arrived, but now she couldn't help but be happy about it. Very few people showed such consistency in caring for perfect strangers.

"Good to see you smiling, Major, but she's right," Cristoff's deep rumble spoke out, taking the steps up to meet both girls on the stairs, "Especially taking stairs on that leg."

Now, the concern was getting a bit much, "Oh, relax, Captain, I'm really fine. I've had worse as a child than this!"

She said it offhandedly, but Cristoff frowned. He'd known that, actually. The story was written in her bones, and in the long-since healed scars that presented themselves on her body. He wanted to ask her about it, but decided against it.

He barely knew her, he couldn't exactly push her to tell him all about her sordid past.

"That may be so," he stated with a smirk, adopting her same lighthearted tone, "But that doesn't mean I will allow you to unnecessarily tax the healing I've done this time around."

With that, he easily plucked the smaller mage from the stair she was on and tossed her - gently - over his shoulder, ignoring her protests, carrying her down the steps and sitting her next to Laxus at the bar.

"Hey!" she slapped at his hands as he went to check her over again for injuries, "You quit that! I can tell you aren't at full magic, so if there is some other random issue you've not yet healed, we will deal with it _tomorrow. _Understand?" she shot him a scathing glare, but there wasn't much heat behind it. He could actually see her fighting off a smile, but as there were so many people now directing their attention toward them, Cristoff doubted he'd see much of the more playful side of the Rune Knight officer.

She seemed… uncomfortable around people she didn't know. And she hid that discomfort behind excessively professional behavior and a stern attitude. Cristoff rolled his eyes and ruffled her hair, deciding if he wasn't going to challenge her behaviors, probably very few would.

Looking to his left, he decided he was likely the _only _one who would challenge her, as Doranbolt was passed out drunk, laying over one of the tables.

"I'm surprised you're awake, actually," he commented, taking a seat at her other side, effectively trapping her between himself and Laxus so she couldn't escape.

Lucy was busy reassuring a distraught blue-haired healer that no, none of the injuries on her torso were bothering her after Cristoff's manhandling of her person, and that yes, she would be fine sitting here with the two large males, and no, she wasn't too uncomfortable. Eventually the girl just sighed and made a shooing motion at Wendy.

"Go, go, spend time with your guildmates and recuperate. You're exhausted. We can catch up tomorrow before I leave," Lucy told her. When Wendy looked ready to protest, the blonde brought out her most stern expression and crossed her arms.

The little healer soon relented and walked away glumly, and Lucy chuckled very lightly at the way she pouted as she turned on her stool to face the bar.

"So, as I was saying, I'm surprised you're awake. Your injuries were pretty extensive, we used a lot of magic to heal you. Most would be sleeping for the next few days," Cristoff commented, assuming that he now had her attention.

"How much do you know about celestial magic, Cristoff?" Lucy asked him, without looking his way. She also gave Laxus a short, but rather cheerful greeting - to which Laxus gave a surprised grunt of acknowledgement - while Cris thought it through.

"Honestly, more than most, because I spend some time at the Academe Cellestine - I'm the lunar dragon slayer so some of the magic is pretty similar, it's a good place to research - but still, as far as summoning magic goes… there's just not a whole lot of information out there. And there hasn't really ever been a summoner I cared enough for to ask them about it." he admitted.

Lucy frowned at this, "I've always dreamt of going to the Academe. My mother wanted to send me, but… well anyway, I never went."

"You seem to be doing okay on your own, Blondie," Laxus chimed in unexpectedly, and Lucy gave him a bright smile. He choked on his whiskey. '_Holy shit, is this the same person from this morning?' _he thought to himself as he cleared his throat.

"Thank you for saying that, Laxus. Or, well, can I call you that? Or would you prefer Mr. Dreyar?" she asked him sheepishly, ashamed she'd been so familiar with the man.

"Laxus is fine," he grunted. Ever the eloquent one.

"R-right. Well anyway, Cris, my point: Celestial summoning magic is about compatibility. Well, mostly it's about respect and caring for your spirits and not being a douchebag, but the actual _technique _involved is compatibility. My magic doesn't have the option to resist other magic types - if I want to contract with multiple spirits my magic has to accept other magical types easily."

Cristoff nodded, but still looked confused, "What does that have to do with mine and Wendy's healing?"

"Ah, well, because I have to be versatile, my magic kind of just… embraces foreign magic. I'm pretty resilient to magical attacks in general as well - they still cause damage, obviously, but my magic doesn't repel it or reject it as harshly as other mages do, so it's less effective. So when you and Wendy healed me, my body never worked to fight against the foreign magic. Most mages _do. _Just like how it is easier for a non-mage to accept magical healing than it is for a well-developed mage to do so." Lucy clarified.

"I see," Cristoff said thoughtfully, placing his elbows on the bar, "That is actually pretty fascinating. I never considered that."

Lucy nodded happily, then proceeded to jump out of her skin when an excited voice behind her chimed in, "Major Heartfilia! Does that mean you also have an easier time completing a unison raid?"

'_Oh no…' _

She turned around slowly, dreading the conversation to ensue, "Oh, uh. Hello Mr. Justine. I haven't had an opportunity to attempt such a move, but I suppose in theory that would be the case, yes," hesitating only slightly, she added, "and… you can call me Lucy, if you would like."

* * *

Lucy found, much to her surprise, that she rather enjoyed speaking with Freed. He was polite, but more lively than she would have thought, and his frequent scathing comments about his team (that went largely over their heads) were infinitely amusing. Her snarky side decided it loved him.

He had dragged her away from her Laxus/Cristoff sandwich (a thought that made her blush as an accompanying image popped into her head) and over to a table that held the rest of the Thunder Legion.

All three mages had thanked her for her assistance with the battle the week prior, and then the other two mages had been ignored entirely as Freed launched into an in-depth discussion of her magic. She'd even almost summoned a spirit or two to introduce them to help quench the rune mage's thirst for information, but each time Cristoff had magically appeared by her side and glared at her until she agreed not to expend magic so soon after having nearly depleted it.

She caught a ginger-haired man eyeing her uncomfortably from a few tables away multiple times throughout the evening, but wrote it off as a general distaste for Council mages. It wasn't exactly an uncommon opinion, by any means, so she didn't think much more on it.

Three hours and two guild brawls (which Lucy got through without incident due to Freed's immediate deployment of protection runes) later found Freed and Lucy sitting at a table alone, the latter having never found the guildmaster to discuss the current situation with Tartaros, and everyone else in the guild either gone or passed out in random locations throughout the hall.

Laxus and Cristoff were the only other mages still conscious, and when Cristoff made his way to their table, Lucy knew she her evening was over. Cris had a look in his eye that was oddly reminiscent of an overprotective mother when he informed her that it was "time for bed".

She snorted at the fact that he'd seemingly assigned himself the role of her parent, but conceded anyway. She was still tired, and since she'd been pulled away from her actual task of conversing with Master Makarov Dreyar, she would have to do that tomorrow before leaving the guild. She'd need to rest up if she was going to make it through that conversation.

Lucy bid Freed goodbye and begrudgingly accepted it when Cristoff scooped her from the bench and carried her much smaller form in his ridiculously large arms up the stairs and back to the infirmary bed she'd be resting in.

* * *

"Cristoff?"

"Lucy? What is it?" he asked her while he checked over her injuries one last time before he left for the evening.

"I'm sorry. For the way I behaved earlier. I am ashamed to admit I was in a bit of a crisis mode, and did not handle myself well. I normally have better control over my emotions-"

"_Lucy. _Stop. You literally escaped a war zone, jumped into the middle of a battle to save perfect strangers, and woke up in the middle of an unfamiliar room with your entire world shifted. Having control of your emotions in a situation like that is a bit… ambitious."

Lucy laughed lightly.

"Also," Cris continued lightly, "You can stop being so… formal. It's unnerving. You're much easier to get along with when you're relaxed."

Nodding, the celestial mage agreed, "I… I know that. It's just, after nine years in the military, it's hard to turn it off. You know?"

"Nine years?" Cristoff looked confused, "That would mean-"

"Yeah, it means I joined the Rune Knights when I was twelve. It's… a long story."

The lunar slayer digested this information, going quiet as he gave it thought. He couldn't help but wonder if some of those old injuries had something to do with her 'long story'. He, again, decided against asking about it. She seemed vulnerable enough in that moment, he didn't feel the need to pry further.

"Anyway, achieving rank when you're barely fifteen… it isn't exactly a walk in the park. Older soldiers and mages found it rather… challenging to follow me, and my orders, so to counteract that I developed a tendency to not allow myself to show any weakness, even with my emotions. It clashes with my own natural personality most days, and I hate it, but most days I think it's the only reason I've survived this long."

Cristoff looked at her curiously, "If it was so difficult, and you hated it so much, why didn't you leave? Aren't commision commitments in Fiore six years? You've obviously accepted an additional service contract since your first."

Lucy averted her gaze, "It was better than what I'd be going back to," she said quietly, "And Lahar," she coughed to cover her whimper, but Cristoff heard it, "Lahar, he 'adopted' me, took me in when I didn't have anyone else, became my brother, and leaving the Knights meant leaving him behind. Probably to never see him again, and I just couldn't do that. Even if I was willing to accept the other consequences of returning to my father."

"I don't think I understand," Cristoff answered, "Why wouldn't you see him? If you were family? And why did he adopt you if you have a father out there?" Weren't adoption laws in Fiore like in Bosco? No one would dream of separating him and his siblings. Not ever. And he wouldn't dream of leaving his father, for any reason.

"He didn't officially adopt me, not legally, he couldn't. My father still had custody. Technically, still does."

"What?" Cristoff was even more confused, "Aren't you over twenty years old now? How does your father have custody of you, you're a grown woman!"

Lucy laughed without humor, "You'll find that Fiore isn't quite as progressive a country as most people believe it to be. If I were an ordinary citizen, you'd be right, but among Fioran nobility, the laws are different. Every attempt to change them has been thwarted by old, entitled men who think controlling their daughters is the best way to get ahead in their stuffy world. And I guess, here in Fiore, they aren't wrong. We are like property to be bought and sold, bargaining chips for business deals and increased social standing. My _father, _not that he was ever much of one, will have custody of me until I turn twenty-five, or until I marry. And if I marry? I'll be in the _custody _of my husband until the same age, or until I bear an heir. Some bullshit laws they keep avoiding to change in the name of 'noble bloodlines' or some stupid shit like that."

Cristoff was stunned. Bosco hadn't had laws like that for centuries. It was archaic, "That's… Horrible. Is that why you joined the military? And your father was okay with that?"

Lucy gave him a victorious smile at that, settling in further into her veritable mountain of pillows, "There were a lot of reasons I joined, and why I did so at the age of twelve, but the gist of it is - that's the one place my father can't control me. The one place where the law is on my side: noble families are subject to military service, specifically nobles with rare skill. The royal family can compel rare mages of any age to serve, and the noble families are required to accept, at the very least, one six-year term commission. Oh, how furious my father was when found out…" Lucy chuckled at that, smiling brightly.

"So, the king demanded the military service of a twelve year old girl? Because you have a rare magic type?"

"Don't sound like that, Cris. He did it because I asked him to."

"But why?"

"I… think that is enough soul-bearing for one day, don't you?" She asked him, shutting down the conversation and waving in a dismissive gesture.

"Yeah… yeah, I'll go. Hey, Lucy?"

She raised an eyebrow.

"Thanks for trusting me enough to tell me some of this. I know it's not easy, all things considered…" he trailed off, fighting the urge to activate his magic to soothe her emotions. She wouldn't take that well this time, he was sure.

Lucy gave him a freshly brightened smile, "Thanks for being trustworthy."


	8. Chapter 8

**Dear Readers,**

**If you haven't noticed, we are slowly seeing Lucy relax a bit toward others in the guild. She's still not close with most people, but she's spending less time being stiff and formal, so yay! Over the next few chapters you'll see more of who she is in her head actually being displayed to others. **

**I hope you're excited! Let me know if we are getting too detailed, I like the way its flowing but I don't want to bore you!**

**Reminder: I own nothing, Desna owns Cristoff and the other Pradesh Family Members, Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail. Shout out to GoddessxNyte for being the world's most supportive Beta (and also keeping up with my crazy schedule).**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Really, Master Dreyar-"

"Call me Makarov, Lucy," he insisted.

"Makarov, we have been here for too long already to leave without compensating you in some way. The council may no longer exist, but that doesn't give me license to ignore proper etiquette-"

"So don't leave," Makarov suggested, picking at the wax in his ear, seemingly bored.

"I have things to accomplish, as the highest ranking office remaining I am needed-"

"You're right. You're needed here, against Tartaros."

Lucy was flabbergasted. Flustered. They had been at this for _hours_, and Makarov had yet to name what she and Doranbolt owed for their time and medical supplies, nor had he given any indication that the conversation was coming to a close. If he hadn't _said_ she could leave without giving the guild anything, she would have assumed she was some kind of hostage.

But no, she was stuck between Makarov's stubbornness in refusing to accept compensation, and her own stubbornness and childhood lessons that told her she _could not leave _without giving him something for his hospitality. It was exhausting.

Finally, Makarov turned his full attention to her and his tone became serious, "Major, let me ask you a question."

"...alright," she agreed with trepidation.

"What do you plan on doing once you leave here?"

Thrown off, she thought for a moment before answering, "I will see about rebuilding the council. With so much at stake, we need to get up and running and track down Tartaros and deal with them."

Makarov nodded, crossing his arms over his chest, "And have you considered whether or not this task is _possible?"_

She had. And unfortunately, she was leaning towards 'no', but who was she to say what wasn't possible when the alternative could mean something unspeakably horrible for all of Fiore. She didn't know what she was planning but she had to at least try to stop them.

"I… I don't think worrying about what is possible is going to help, all due respect, Makarov. The fact remains that something must be done, and I am the only one capable of getting the council up and running enough to even attempt to intervene."

Makarov smiled at her, "You have spirit, my dear girl. More than that council ever knew what to do with. But there is something you've not considered."

"...what would that be?"

"The council has never been the only option for threats against Fiore, Major. Or are you saying that some ragtag group of mages you manage to put together in the next week will be more capable of dealing with the situation than Fairy Tail is?"

Lucy thought on that for a moment, before pointing out, "Sir, Fairy Tail _is _a ragtag group of mages, no offense."

The small man burst out into uproarious laughter, "You're not wrong there, child," he agreed, "But the fact remains we are the strongest ragtag group of mages available."

Lucy looked at her lap, "I… suppose you are right. But it's not your problem. It's the council's job to deal with this threat-"

"Lucy," he said seriously, "I think it's about time you accepted that the council doesn't _have _a job anymore. They don't exist. Hell, your own commission extension expired while you were in a coma, or have you forgotten?"

The celestial mage winced and narrowed her eyes at him, "How do you know that?"

The smile he gave her was nothing short of devious, "I have my ways."

"That's rather vague."

"Not the point. The point is, Tartaros is a problem. So, join us - Fairy Tail is a family, and beyond that, we protect our home. And, we could use your help."

Lucy thought on that for quite a while, before excusing herself from his office to think through his words.

* * *

"What's on your mind, Major?"

Lucy looked up from where she sat on the railing on the outdoor balcony, "Scarlet. Good to see you," she said formally, trying to clear the thoughtfulness from her expression and not having much success in it.

"I was sorry to hear of what happened with the council. You have my deepest condolences for you comrades," Erza told her, "I can't imagine what you're going through, Major. Frankly, I hope I never have to."

Lucy sighed deeply, kicking her feet slightly, but didn't respond..

Erza leaned her forearms on the railing and looked out over the city of Magnolia, just as Lucy was doing. They sat in silence for a while, both deep in thought.

"Call me Lucy," the celestial mage finally said, "Erza, right? That's your first name? May I call you that?"

Erza looked at the older girl in shock. They'd met a few times, and despite being on opposite sides of most of their interactions, they'd always gotten along fairly well. They shared similarities that neither was likely to ever discuss aloud. Similar insecurities, fears, a past that was similar in that neither had control of what happened around them, so they sought control in their surroundings now that they'd escaped their respective prisons. Despite the fact that before Erza had been stuck on an island for five years, she had been older than the blonde, they had always understood each other.

Despite that, they'd never considered each other on a first name basis. It protected both of them, kept them from getting too close. Looking at the woman who had outgrown her in both life experience and age, Erza sighed softly. Since the last time they'd met, they'd both allowed people close to them, let some people into their life despite their mutual fears of betrayal, or abandonment, or getting hurt. And Lucy had just lost all but one of the people she'd fought so hard to befriend.

Erza's eyes softened, "You may call me Erza, if you'd like Lucy. It would be an honor to count you as a friend."

Lucy looked at her, clearing the sadness from her eyes, and giving the requip a small but genuine smile, "The honor is mine, Erza."

They both sat for a while longer, before Lucy sighed and spoke again, "Can I ask your opinion on something?"

"Of course. What is it?"

Lucy rubbed at her eyes, as if trying to wipe the stress from them, "Makarov wants me to stay. Says Fairy Tail is a family, and asked me to stay and help defend it. I get the impression he means more than just with Tartaros, he wants me to join the guild. Is it… wrong of me to feel like I'd be betraying Lahar by accepting?"

Erza put a hand to her chin, "I don't know, Lucy. I can't say I'd ever consider my feelings… wrong, really. But I do think, from what I remember of your brother, that he would want you to have people who care for you, that you care for in return," she laughed quietly, "though, based on his opinion of Fairy Tail, something tells me he would have picked a different group of people."

Lucy chuckled, remembering his many rants about the guild she was currently with. She had a feeling he secretly admired their courage though, she always had gotten that impression, as much as he'd tried to hide it.

"I guess you're right. With Tartaros looming, I can't help but feel like the only option that would end any way but poorly would be for Dory and I to stay here and join forces with you. I do like your guild quite a lot - something I'm telling you in confidence, Scarlet - and Makarov is not wrong. I technically do not owe the council any more of my life. But," her voice turned into a whisper, "I'm just so terrified. I'm afraid of how easily I will get close to the people here - I'm not sure who else I can afford to lose."

Erza covered Lucy's hand with her own, "Being afraid is only natural. But you can't let it control your decisions, Lucy. I think we've both learned that lesson the hard way."

Lucy nodded.

Another few minutes of silence. They watched as the sun sank down to touch the horizon, the deep orange rays lighting up the buildings and streets of Magnolia an a new and beautiful light.

"Erza," Lucy looked at the mage by her side, head tilted to the side, "What do you think I should do?"

The requip mage gave her a smile, but shook her head, "I can't answer that for you, Lucy. But I think you already know what you want to do," she said, releasing the celestial mage's hand and making a show of stretching, "Don't stay out here too much longer. I hear a strawberry cake calling my name. I'll see you inside?"

"...Yeah. Be right there," Lucy confirmed, clutching the fabric of her brother's jacket lightly, feeling the captain's patch hidden underneath.


End file.
